Mary O'Brien Rodowicz has lived in this area since the 1980’s, and going to the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade with her family every year has become an important way to celebrate her Irish heritage. But she is more than a bystander at the annual event; she’s part of the Chicopee St. Patrick's Parade Committee. Her involvement with the parade...
Mary O'Brien Rodowicz has lived in this area since the 1980’s, and going to the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade with her family every year has become an important way to celebrate her Irish heritage.
But she is more than a bystander at the annual event; she’s part of the Chicopee St. Patrick's Parade Committee.
Her involvement with the parade committee began when her daughter, Kate, was a contestant and Colleen’s Court member in 2008. “The committee members were so good to the colleen and her court, building a beautiful float which carried them through the streets of Holyoke on Parade Day, inviting them to Irish-themed events and presenting them with beautiful gifts,” said Rodowicz, the committee’s publicity committee chair. “My daughter has such wonderful memories of that year, and so I wanted to give something back to this organization.”
She joined the committee later that year and has since worked on various projects, including the contestants’ traditional Irish tea and the scholarship committee. “I have been so impressed with this group of talented individuals whose dedication to family, community and Irish culture is unsurpassed,” Rodowicz said.
Chicopee’s 2013 award winners and VIP’s are: Judith Corridan Danek, president; Timothy O. O’Shea, parade marshal; Paul Rouillard, Jack Woods Award recipient; and The Johnny Yee Foundation, George and Buddy Atkinson Award recipient.
“My family is only one example of the family and community ties that are strengthened by this committee,” Danek said. “Our parade family brings together relatives and neighbors, school ties and employers and encourages cross-generational relationships.”
Danek was elected president after serving on the Parade Committee in several capacities since 2000. She has been the chairman of the Colleen Ball program book for several years and is active in fundraising and soliciting sponsorships for the committee. She is also a member of the Scholarship Committee.
This is Holyoke’s 62nd anniversary of the parade, and it is the Chicopee Parade Committee’s 59th anniversary. “We are proud to be one of the largest contingents in the parade and to share our civic pride with the families along the route and the viewing audience,” said Danek, a contestant in the 1981 Chicopee Colleen Contest. “It is a special opportunity to come together alongside our military, police, fire and other first responders, our local businesses who provide strong financial support and our community organizations which promote education and family values.”
And the parade provides an opportunity for the city’s youth to march and present themselves whether in a club, unit or band.
“It’s a chance for Chicopee residents to participate in something as a family, or with friends or groups,” said Danek whose first Holyoke parade experience was as an 8-year old majorette. “Families use this parade as an opportunity to teach our children the importance of participating and celebrating Irish heritage and civic pride. Organizations use this as a way to publicly demonstrate civic pride and ongoing vitality.”
O’Shea is a Chicopee native and long-time member of the Chicopee St. Patrick’s Parade Committee. He has been active on various subcommittees as well as serving as treasurer and president.
The Jack Woods Award is named for a longtime parade committee member and recognizes an individual who has served for 10 or more years on the committee and assisted on many subcommittees. Winner Rouillard has assisted with its many subcommittees and projects, eventually assuming leadership positions as Coronation Ball chairperson, trustee and vice president. In 2007, he served as the committee president.
The George and Buddy Atkinson Award is named for the founding members of the committee; it is given each year to a person or persons who are non-committee members who have assisted the committee by either personal involvement or with fundraising, scholarships or supporting and contributing to parade committee functions and events including the Colleen Coronation Ball.
The foundation, named after the late Johnny Yee, provides college scholarships for local students. Through the annual Johnny Yee Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament, more than $358,000 has been raised to fund individual scholarships as well as equipment and supplies to educational institutions.
This year’s Holyoke grand marshal, Brian Q. Corridan, and Holyoke Parade Committee President Richard Dupuis are also members of the Chicopee Parade Committee.
Among those marching with the Chicopee dignitaries will be the Chicopee Comprehensive and Chicopee High School bands, the Bellamy Middle School Drill Team, the Chicopee Police and Fire departments, the Holy Catholic High School marching unit and representatives of Chicopee Electric Light, Teddy Bear Pools, Moose Lodge #1849 Family Center, the Irish Cultural Center at Elms College, WWLP Channel 22, the Western Mass. Relay for Life and youth football players and cheerleaders.
Chicopee’s 2013 colleen is McKenzie Vershon, 20, a student at Framingham State University. Court members are: Taylor Berube, 19, a student at Springfield College; Kari Ribadeneyra, 17, a student at Chicopee Comprehensive High School; Laura Gibb, 17, a student at Chicopee Comprehensive High School; and Ashley Sanocki, 17, a student at Chicopee Comprehensive High School. Ashley also was chosen “Miss Congeniality.”
The Colleen Ball could easily become an anachronism, Danek said. But “by using the experience to teach and train our participants, we can instill in them a decided low-tech approach to appreciating long-standing traditions of embracing civic pride and Irish heritage, and we can emphasize the importance of accepting a challenge, of getting involved.”
The parade, Danek said, “is an important shared experience, one full of careful organization, full participation and enthusiastic celebration, and, importantly, it’s a public way for the City of Chicopee to say thank you.”